1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sample analyzer which analyzes a sample contained in a sample container, a method of obtaining sample identification information to obtain identification information of a sample contained in a sample container by reading a barcode adhered to the sample container, and a sample identification information obtaining apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, sample analyzers for processing clinical samples such as blood or urine are being used in medical centers. In this kind of sample analyzer, a configuration for obtaining identification information of a sample contained in a sample container by reading a barcode adhered to the sample container is provided.
In the automatic hemanalysis device described in JP laid-open patent application H09-89902, the barcode adhered to a sample is read while a sample container is rotated. Here, after the start of the reading, when barcode information which matches three times in succession is obtained, the identification information of the sample is obtained on the basis of this barcode information.
A sample container may be moved from a medical center to another medical center. In this case, the identification information of a sample is newly assigned in the medical center after the transfer. A new barcode is issued on the basis of the newly assigned identification information and is adhered to the sample container. At this time, the new barcode is adhered over the barcode which is adhered in the medical center before the transfer. When misalignment occurs between the new barcode and the old barcode when the new barcode is adhered, the old barcode is partially exposed to the outside.
In this case, in the device in JP laid-open patent application H09-89902, when the reading is started from the old barcode, the barcode information based on the old barcode is read three times in succession, and on the basis of this barcode information, wrong identification information may be obtained.